When health is on the line, patients want a human

Patients aren't shy about how they feel when a call touches their health. A new national survey from Answering Service Care, covering more than 2,000 U.S. adults, finds that health care calls are among the most emotionally charged interactions Americans have with any business — and that artificial intelligence (AI) answering those calls tends to make things worse, not better.

Three in 4 Americans say a call about their health is stressful, and among those who've actually dealt with AI on a call, nearly a quarter gave up without getting the help they needed, and roughly 1 in 6 left feeling worse than when they started.

The resistance to automation isn't blanket, though — patients draw sharper lines at the moments that matter most, like getting a test result or facing a 911 emergency, where a solid majority want a human on the line no matter what. The findings land as practices increasingly lean on AI-driven phone triage to cut hold times and staffing strain, even as patients turn to AI on their own terms in other parts of the care journey. The gap between what practices are automating and what patients say they'll tolerate is worth a close look. View the slideshow for the key findings.